Theme Of Mise En Scene In The Great Gatsby

Improved Essays
Director Baz Luhrman’s 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby not only focuses on the chasms between the newly rich and the old money of New York, but also the struggles the characters experience as their secrets are exposed to those around them. The early scenes in The Great Gatsby where Tom’s mistress is revealed to Nick when he is at dinner with the Buchanans and Jordan Baker (9:45-11:03), and the following discussion between Daisy and Nick over her wishes for her daughter’s future and her personal bitterness towards the world (11:03-12:39), highlight an overarching theme of the film which is that all of the characters have deeper, darker secrets than what they portray to those around them.
By using specific care with the mise-en-scène and montage
…show more content…
The music is continuous throughout the scene up until Tom begins to speak (9:18-9:42), where it is cut off and replaced with loud asynchronous cricket chirps and the synchronous tinkling of the silverware and the crystal centerpiece. This sudden lack of music puts all of the focus on Tom’s words and actions, making the ringing of the telephone sound more invasive and jarring when it enters the scene. The piano begins again after the second ring of the telephone (9:50), breaking the frozen moment of silence and progressing the scene along with Tom’s departure from the dining room. It again fades out as Daisy leaves the room, the Buchanans’ bickering taking its place as a sound within the scene. However, their heated discussion is synchronous with the scene as Jordan attempts to eavesdrop on them through the glass door where they are visible arguing (10:15). The large distance between Tom and the rest of the diners, especially Daisy, is highlighted in the moment they return as his seat is set opposing theirs across the large table. The table setting implies not only a physical distance between Tom and the others, but also an emotion one caused by his infidelity, a dark secret he poorly attempts to keep even though “everybody knows”, as Jordan …show more content…
Neither Daisy or Nick could have legitimately seen all the way across the bay, alluding that the shots after they look to the green pier light are a distorted reality based in imagination. Sigmund Freud claims that a structure created within a dream “combines the features of both objects into a new image and in so doing makes clever use of any similarities that the two objects may happen to posses in reality” (Freud, 359). The impossible pan across the bay, then, could have been a dream or created memory of Nick’s after the event that combined the green pier light with both Daisy and Gatsby, the light acting as a kind of bridge between the two. Also during the pan, the asynchronous piano music becomes louder and more climactic than previous, concluding with a quick scene dissolve from Gatsby’s pier to Nick arriving back at his house (12:38-12:47). The lens used for the pan was very high gloss with a focus for colors, as even with the high contrast between the dark sky and waters and the pier and castle lights individual colors are still visible on the pier and in the windows. These high contrasts, with focus on Gatsby standing upon his pier gazing out to Daisy, foreshadow the gradual unraveling of his wall between the shiny, rich façade he had created

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Imagery is a vital component to any successful and popular literary work. By using his imagistic style, Fitzgerald brought the setting of The Great Gatsby to life. This descriptive language not only brought the novel to life, but also helped establish certain motifs in key points of the story. The diction that Fitzgerald applies allows the reader to mentally reach a new level of understanding of The Great Gatsby. When combined, these techniques allow Fitzgerald to explore and convey different atmospheres, different societies, and different worlds.…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How does dishonesty influence an individuals’ ability to be happy? In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald comments on a variety of concepts; Self-image, judgement, happiness, and so on. Out of all the themes, he seems to develop the idea of happiness more often than not. He sets up the groups of people in very distinct social classes; East Egg and West Egg. This starts the contrast to the way humans do things just because of the social standing they classify themselves with.…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Nick’s revulsion with the way of life in the eastern United States is only further perpetrated by Tom’s adultery. The similarities between Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship share many of the same problems that plagued Fitzgerald and his eventual wife, Zelda. This type of self-indulgence and egotism is at the root of someone’s insecurity and their need to feel…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Holden fears the possibility that he may spend the rest of his life as an outsider looking in. Although Holden attempts to change his social position, his mindset is out of place, preventing him from relating to how a normal individual would feel. Therefore, Holden struggles immensely in terms of making lasting connections with others, mainly because he cannot see eye to eye with them. “He focuses on the danger and potential death instead of love and a personal relationship” (Edwards).…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Tom and Gatsby are both dishonest and deeply flawed men who commit consistent shows of indiscretions. For example, Tom condemns Daisy’s affair, but does not have the decency to be discreet about his own. Gatsby’s shady business dealings with Wolfsheim and illicit ways of acquiring wealth can, without a doubt, compare to Tom’s unscrupulous character. Both Tom and Gatsby lie and cheat, but Tom does it for the sole purpose of self-indulgence, while Gatsby does what he does in pursuance of his dream. Tom and Gatsby both have controlling personalities, and will do what they can to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite texts being written in different eras, they can still reflect similar enduring values that can transcend their own contexts. These values are the subconscious ideals that influence the way all human beings behave and act. Such ideals are shaped by the sociocultural, economic and historical contexts. This idea is clearly seen through the comparison of the novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald and the Sonnets of the Portuguese, XIV and XXII by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Regardless of the diverse contexts and perspectives of Browning and Fitzgerald, it is highly evident that their exploration of human nature 's value of love and hope are indeed shared between the texts.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Love can take a person on an unforgettable and otherwise unattainable journey. Jay Gatsby, the love-stricken protagonist in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is pulled into this journey which brings back his past. Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s new neighbor and friend, narrates the situation he sees involving his married cousin, Daisy, who is caught between Gatsby and her husband, Tom Buchanan. Tom reveals to Nick the affair he is having with another married woman, Myrtle Wilson and relationships grow intense. With Nick’s assistance, Gatsby and Daisy reunite, followed by a rollercoaster of events, including murder and suicide.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Concealed Countenances Countless numbers of people put on false fronts to conceal their true identities and to hide what they truly are. Some of these people include the immoral characters from The Great Gatsby. Although they do a better job than most people by pretending to be someone they are not, the audience can still see right through their masks. In deeper meaning, these characters present a disguise to others who are too blind to notice their flaws. Not only do they fool each other, but in the beginning of the novel, they mislead the reader.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man who fell in love with the wrong girl. He built a life of luxury and dedicated his every move to Daisy Buchanan, the wrong girl. Tom Buchanan is the husband of our so called wrong girl. His life is based more upon his own opinion and morals than what society deems as correct. Neither of the two are the perfect man, but then again, the 1920’s is not perfect either.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Destruction Fee As Jay Gatsby attempts to win over his golden girl, he is oblivious to the fact that he is hurting himself and the people he cares about along the way. Not only is Gatsby blind to not see the incongruity of his goal, but he fails to realize that the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, has other aspirations for her ideal life that Gatsby will never be able to fulfill. Much like the way Gatsby thinks and acts, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson struggle to be mollified with what they already have. These naïve hopes of a textbook life cause all of the key characters in The Great Gatsby to cause hurt and destruction.…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The corruption of the American Dream is a prevalent theme in classic literature, as it highlights the falsified illusions of social mobility and power commonly promoted during the early twentieth century. The motivation for socio-economic inclination is generally consumed by materialism and shallowness in an effort to satisfy the constant lack of self fulfillment, which inevitably leads to self destruction. Many people blindly accept the idealistic concept of social and economic mobility only to discover its unattainableness. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the corruption underlying the pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby. In an effort to captivate Daisy’s attention, Jay Gatsby publicly displays his wealth and…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The jealousy Gatsby feels towards Tom and Daisy’s relationship affects his personal relationship with Daisy, and because they are so rich, Gatsby is torn to pieces. Jordan Baker, friend of Daisy, tells Nick about Daisy and Gatsby 's relationship in the past . How madly in love they were, how little Daisy cared about money back then, and how Gatsby went to war and Daisy married Tom Buchanan…changing her life and Gatsby 's forever. Jordan tells Nick about the Buchanan’s wedding day and how Tom “came down with a hundred people in four private cars” and he even gave Daisy “ a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars”.…

    • 1664 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Femininity in American literature is more often seen as curse rather than a gift. In the novels The Great Gatsby and My Antonia, men are the very essence of women’s beings. The female identity in the novels is virtually nonexistent as they are seen through skewed perceptions. The complexity of the characters of Daisy and Antonia is compromised by their portrayal from the male gaze, limiting their ability to serve as anything more than idealized symbols with the sole purpose of pleasing men. Critics have consistently painted a picture of Daisy Buchanan of The Great Gatsby as an evil being whose lack of morals lead to the descent of Gatsby.…

    • 2243 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Hardest Person to Escape is Yourself “The devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you’ve ever wished for,” as Tucker Max said. This is played out nowhere so well as in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s poor and humble beginnings led to his internal belief that the only way he would ever be worthy of respect would be to change his status within society. When he fell in love and then lost his first love, this belief became even more internalized as he believed the only way he would ever be worthy of this love would be to completely alter his identity and become someone else entirely.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a 2013 film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald 's 1925 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Baz Luhrmann, written by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce and won the 2014 Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, along with other significant awards for best editing, best sound and best cinematography. The Great Gatsby follows a Wall Street trader, Nick Carraway played by Tobey Maguire as he comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lives next door to a mysterious, party-throwing millionaire, Jay Gatsby played by Leonardo DiCaprio and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy played by Carey Mulligan…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays